Blood in the Sand
by Plywood Fiend
Summary: AU quite literally. The forces of good from both worlds must stand against an enemy known only as ‘The Prince’ or else all shall be destroyed. Chapter 5 is up.
1. Chapter 1

**Greetings all. This story is set far away from all universes covered in the series' and so on. It's rated for violence, language, that sort of thing.**

**Blood in the Sand**

**By the Plywood Fiend**

**Chapter 1**

"Gate of Destiny."

With a mechanical whir, the gate opened and from it shot a blinding white blast of energy which consumed the half dozen Mortisamon in its path. Against the backdrop of the burning town, the would-be beacon of hope that MagnaAngemon had just released upon the enemy seemed significantly diminished.

Below him, the surviving Gazimon, Leafmon and Tsunomon were still flooding out of the still standing buildings. Terrified Pukamon flew past him in groups of threes and fours. Most were making their way towards the woods which would hopefully provide them with some cover, others were choosing to simply cower behind him. He didn't have time to turn around and urge them to run with the others.

Elsewhere, as another of the small wooden structures was blown apart by the Mortismons' assault, Birdramon snatched two of the creatures in her talons and made for the sky. As she reached the layer of smoke from the fires which was beginning to obscure the moonlight, she released the snarling creatures from her clutches and watched as they plummeted back to the ground.

"Meteor wing!" She cried as she released a volley of fireballs into the assembled mass of enemies that had placed themselves outside of the village. These creatures were striking from a distance, laying waste to the once picturesque settlement one building at a time while others of their number swept through the streets and destroyed any Digimon they came across. MagnaAngemon and the small army that he'd managed to muster over the months had destroyed hundreds of the beasts in this and past battles, but for every one that was deleted, two more seemed to spring up in their place. This was the fifth settlement that they'd tried in vain to defend.

"Spiking strike!" Shouted a Stingmon as he plunged his arm mounted blade into the vaguely humanoid chest of another Mortismon. His target reared in pain and stumbled backwards a few steps before breaking apart. Fighting aside his weariness, barely, the Stingmon spread his wings and took to the air in search of another target. No sooner had he found one however, then another building exploded. This one was nearby, and a flying piece of flaming debris caught him in the face.

He fell backwards against the ground. His brain was screaming at his body to get up but the blow had left him dazed and by the time his coordination had become unscrambled enough to allow him to stand up, the Mortismon was already hovering over him with his staff outstretched. The timing was perfect, it could almost have been planned.

"Death Lance." Uttered an expressionless voice, and from the staff shot out a pointed ray of dark energy which pierced the Stingmon through the chest. He screamed in agony as the effects of the attack lingered before he finally disintegrated.

This was how it always was. More Digimon were destroyed in each battle and the Mortismons' numbers only seemed to swell. Things were bad, and they were going to get worse.

The rookie and In-training Digimon that were on their way to the forest were all but gone. Everyone else was either trapped or hiding within the doomed buildings or had been destroyed.

MagnaAngemon watched as two more buildings below him detonated. No doubt each of those contained more defenceless Digimon. Amidst the destruction, emptied houses stood untouched, simply because there was no one in them to be destroyed. The weaker the target it seemed the more appealing a kill they made.

His forces were still fighting. Unimon and Birdramon were firing shot after shot at the enemy. None of the ones they hit seemed too concerned about their impending deletion. Karatemon was slicing through Mortismon after Mortismon. Angewomon it seemed was busy trying to prise a trapped Digimon out from under a pile of rubble. None of it was making any difference, this village was doomed and sooner or later this would all start up again in another settlement, and no matter how many more Digimon they managed to convince to stand with them against the enemy, it wouldn't make any difference. They couldn't stop the oncoming tide of destruction on their own. But what choice did they have but to try?

"Gate of Destiny."

* * *

"WAKEY! WAKEY!"

Nathan shot upright in his bed as Sepikmon burst into his room, merrily banging his boomerang on a frying pan. Half asleep, the image of a mask wearing creature shrieking insanely and waving blunt instruments in the air was a terrifying sight. Once the adrenaline forced the weariness away however he soon found himself staring irately and half naked at the resident lunatic.

"Morning." Sepikmon said innocently.

Despite himself, Nathan couldn't help but laugh. No matter how much of an uphill struggle it was, Sepikmon and the others flat out refused to let him linger with his depression. He frequently found himself thinking that without him, Gatomon and Salamon, he'd probably slit his throat two weeks back.

Well, truth be told that probably wasn't true. He wasn't ready to concede defeat and give up all hope of getting home just yet, and until he did find a way home this 'Digital World' wasn't a particularly bad place, despite the occasional indignity like semi-psychotic alarm clocks.

"Morning." He replied at last.

"Sleep well?"

"Yeah, sure. I _slept_ well."

"Fantabulous. Now hurry up and get dressed, we need you to peel yesterday's ghastly cheese residue out of the grill."

With an almost sadistic chuckle, Sepikmon retreated back through the door and closed it quietly behind him. Nathan stayed put for a few moments until he was certain that he wasn't about to come barging back through and scare him half to death again before getting up and retrieving his clothes from the wardrobe.

In the dining area of the restaurant, Gatomon uttered a hasty good morning and shoved a cooling omelette towards him before returning her attention to the multitude of eggs on the stoves.

Nathan took his breakfast to a seat by the window and watched a group of Koromon playing tag by a fountain as he ate. There were times such as this one when this strange existence which for whatever reason he'd found himself in seemed almost like a holiday. But the grim realisation that he'd been torn away from home, perhaps never to return soon dispelled any such illusions.

Once again Nathan found his thought processes interrupted as Salamon appeared out of nowhere and pounced on top of his head. She developed a habit of doing this pretty much whenever Nathan was in sight. This could make tasks such as eating and using an oven pretty cumbersome.

"Why do you like it up there?" He asked the heavy lump atop his cranium, "You do know I've got dandruff right."

"Salamon honey," Gatomon said, "Don't pester the slave. It's counterproductive."

Reluctantly, Salamon leapt down onto the table and then onto the floor. Nathan finished the last remnants of his breakfast and then to his dismay learned that Sepikmon had not been joking about the cheese in the grill.

Gradually, the morning crowds begun to appear for breakfast. It was the usual faces, including a Kiwimon who always sat in the same corner and stared out of the same window for hours on end, an oddly flirtatious Wizzardmon and a group of four Gazzimon who were under the misguided assumption that they could sing, (as the village often had the misfortune of noticing).

Nathan's time was spent performing assorted chores befitting a Restaurant worker such as washing dishes and removing Numamon slime from the floor. The day dragged out like all the ones before it. Nathan had lost count of how long he'd been here. Probably a month but when all the days were spent doing exactly the same thing it was easy to lose a sense of time.

Nathan's lunch hour arrived an hour after the main lunchtime crowd had been and gone. He took his lunch to one of the outside tables where the overpowering smells of the kitchen were less evident. The streets were mostly empty at this time of day. Normally that was the way he preferred it. Back home he found he was happier, or at least more comfortable when he was the only one around. Now, when no one was around then there was no one to question just how utterly alone he was now. His family, his friends, they were all on another world. Hell maybe another dimension. There weren't even any humans on this world.

"Nathan."

The voice was not a familiar one, and was said with enough force to startle Nathan from his inactivity, and also cause him to spill some of the soup he was eating on his trousers.

"What the…?" He turned around and gasped. Standing before him, shattering his preconceptions of the facts of the world and existence was a human male.

Ordinarily this would be the kind of man that Nathan would shy away from. His face was hard and littered with scars, his head was shaven which emphasised the image of fierceness. One of his front teeth was missing and the clenched fists that hung on the tense arms looked like they had been used more then once on someone's face. Normally, this was the kind of fact that you'd expect to see on a convict or a street thug.

These weren't normal times however, and at the sight of this man, Nathan could not help but feel a surge of hope. If there were more humans then just him here then maybe there were people who knew how they got here, and perhaps people who could move between one world and the other as they pleased.

"Who," Nathan stopped, the excitement choking his voice. "Who are…?"

The man landed a savage blow to Nathan's midsection which sent him to the floor in a wheezing, crumpled heap.

"We didn't actually want you." The man said, pulling one of Nathan's arms away from the gut that he was cradling and with a swift pull dislocating it.

Nathan would have screamed, had he sufficient air in his lungs to allow it. Instead he simply lay on the grass, his mind numb with shock and his body struggling to take in one agonising lung full of oxygen after another.

"See, you're not supposed to be here."

A savage kick in the ribs sent Nathan into a short lived roll. Some practical part of his head was screaming at his to get up, but his body refused to oblige. He came to a stop almost a meter away from his attacker. He was flat on his back, breathing the shallow breaths of a dying creature and watching almost disinterestedly as a heavy boot slammed down on his ribs, pinning him to the ground. It wasn't like he could run away anyway but perhaps the newcomer thought differently. Maybe this was just one more painful indignity which he could put him through. Who could say?

"You were a mistake you pathetic little turd." Each word was spat out with unconcealed disgust. "We chose someone worthwhile. Someone personally selected by the Prince. Can you imagine that? And look what we get instead. Some fucking pipsqueak waitress who works for a cat."

The man paused to spit in Nathan's face. On top of everything else this was pretty hard to care about.

"The Prince doesn't like mistakes, so he sent me to get rid of you. I've been looking forward to this for a long while now."

He lifted one arm in front of Nathan's face, making certain that he could see it. Nathan thought that he was going to slam the clenched fist into his head until his skull collapsed, or maybe just strangle him to death.

But that didn't happen. Instead the man's arm began to change, the saggy flesh seemed to shift out of existence to be replaced by a dull grey metal. Three sharp looking claws which looked like they could cut through the side of a tank extended from the tip of the new limb. Slowly, the arm began to lower itself towards Nathan's throat.

**To be continued.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to Nameless Dragon for reviewing and thanks also to all readers.**

**Chapter 2**

Oddly, with death looming Nathan's focus became clearer. It seemed the powers that be or sod's law or something wanted him reasonably awake and alert as he was gutted. He could feel the searing pain of the arm that had been torn from its joint clearly now, as well as the agonising pain in his gut, but he still couldn't bring himself to move.

For what seemed like hours, nothing happened. In reality it was probably no more then a second or two. His attacker stood motionless above him with his new clawed limb hovering in his field of vision. He was drinking in every minute of this, making sure that his victim had time to appreciate his impending doom.

"Lightning Paw!"

A flash of white fur snapped passed Nathan's field of vision and the next thing he knew, his would be murderer was staggering backwards, cradling his nose.

"Incoming!" Screamed Sepikmon at the top of his lungs before flinging his boomerang over Nathan's head and towards the attacker. Gatomon, on hearing his booming voice promptly got out of the way. The boomerang struck the man square on the forehead, causing him to stumble backwards several steps.

A pair of hands grabbed his shirt and began to drag him away from the battle. Being dragged across the rough ground was painful, but Nathan knew that he was being taken away from the danger and for this he was grateful. Whether it would ultimately do any good however was debatable.

Gatomon struck again, this time landing a savage, albeit clawless hit in the man's shoulder. Groaning once in pain, he flailed at her with his clawed arm. The shot was rushed however and Gatomon evaded it with ease.

"Getting your…" The man paused and winced in sudden pain as his bleeding nose protested against the motion that speech forced upon it. His features twisted themselves into an embarrassed snarl before he continued, "Getting your pets to fight for you eh Nathan?"

Sepikmon cast a short lived glance in Nathan's direction. His attention soon returned to the aggressor however, who was at this point extending his metallic arm towards Nathan once more. It looked like he was going to make a run at him.

"Pathetic to the last." He said, and then with a voice which was definitely not his own he shouted.

"Mega claw!"

The claws on his arm shot forward from what looked like a thick, black cable. Nathan had barely registered this fact before the three sharp spikes pierced his chest.

There was a short lived popping sound which he soon realised was his flesh being torn open. The pain was numb at first, distant as the shock stalled his body from realising what had happened, but soon he found himself screaming out in anguish as the full impact and sensation of what had happened hit him.

Things started to get blurry very quickly. Sepikmon was shouting something at him, probably some words of encouragement. He was in no shape to hear them. Things were beginning to go black. Before he passed out completely, he couldn't help but wonder why the hooded, scythe wielding person was heading for his killer and not him.

* * *

"He's waking up."

Through his barely open eyes, Nathan could see faces peering down on him. There were a fair few faces, but he couldn't make out any of them.

The realisation that he'd been stabbed hasted the waking process considerably. The faces hastily dispersed as Nathan shot up in the bed he'd been placed on and searched his stomach for where the bleeding holes should be, only to find undamaged skin under three claw marks in his shirt.

For a long while he simply sat still, gaping at the lack his sudden lack of bodily harm and tried, with limited success, to absorb the situation.

"Easy," Sepikmon said in an uncharacteristically calm voice.

"You're ok now." Gatomon added, "Wizzardmon managed to get to you quick enough to heal you."

Nathan nodded, not initially sure of what exactly he was nodding at initially. The information eventually sunk in however, and as he began to calm down and feel the enormous relief that cheating death entailed, another unpleasant thought stuck him and sent the adrenaline coursing through his veins once more.

"What about the other guy?" He asked hurriedly with his eyes scanning the room.

"He's gone." Sepikmon said, "Some uh, out-of-towners showed up shortly after you erm... Well, long story short they chased him off."

_Chased him off? That meant he could come back and finish what he started right? He might get lucky next time right?_

As if sensing the unpleasant train of thought that Nathan was indulging, Salamon promptly lightened the mood by once again pouncing on top of his head. He hadn't even known she was there.

This spontaneous interruption brought some much needed laughter to the group, it was short lived however, and Gatomon promptly shooed Salamon off Nathan's head, she retreated to the foot of the bed and perched there. It didn't look like she knew what had just happened.

"He knew you." Sepikmon said awkwardly after a few moments, "He called you by name."

Distantly, Nathan remembered that he had indeed been called by name by the man who very nearly killed him. He hadn't met him before, that much he was certain of. A face like that he would certainly have remembered.

"I didn't know him." He replied quietly, then paused as he tried to remember what he'd been told "He said that I was a mistake, that they'd chosen someone else and for some reason they got me instead."

"What?" Gatomon asked.

"I don't understand it either. I'm not even sure if I'm remembering this correctly. It's kind of blurry."

Some silent nodding followed, the fact that an armed lunatic had tried to kill their friend was weighing heavy in Gatomon and Sepikmon's minds, however another, equally unsettling fact was that Nathan's mysterious and unexplained arrival had now resulted in an armed attacker invading their formerly peaceful village. Neither of them believed for a second that he intended to place anyone in danger, but that was what he had done nonetheless, and that was what he might still be doing.

"There's someone you need to talk to?" Gatomon said quietly.

"Who?"

"You'll see," Sepikmon added with a forced lightness in his voice. "Up you get."

With that he took hold of Nathan's shoulders and pulled him from the bed. A confusion which was fast becoming his predominant emotional state began to show itself. With everything that had happened, Nathan thought that now he'd be able to sleep and pretend for a few hours that nothing at all had happened.

_What the hell was going on?_

* * *

In spite of what had happened last time, Nathan couldn't help but feel another, albeit weaker surge of hope at the sight of another human. Maybe it was because this one was a concerned looking teenage girl, although the hooded Digimon at her side who bore an uncanny resemblance to the Grim Reaper didn't inspire much confidence.

"Ah, the kraken awakes!" He said in a low, echoing voice.

"Cut that out Phantomon." The new human said, her voice sounded relieved, yet she was looking at Nathan like he was a slightly disappointing museum exhibit.

A flash of sunlight reflected off of something in the corner of Nathan's field of vision. He looked and couldn't help but flinch at the sight of his attackers upgraded arm lying severed and sparkling on one of the restaurant's balcony tables. Phantomon's scythe was lying propped up against it, it looked almost as if it were protecting the severed limb, or trophy.

"A fine cutting is it not?" Phantomon uttered, hovering over to the limb, "I don't think your uninvited guest will be giving you any more grief without this."

"Ignore him," The girl said, just as Nathan was beginning to feel an unpleasant twinge in his arms. "He's not as bloodthirsty as he looks. I'm Amy." She said, extending a hand.

"Nathan." Came the uneasy response as he shook the offered hand, "I take it you've met the others."

"Yep, they told us your story after we sent your friend packing."

"How'd you get here?"

"Trailmon, from Skuld server."

"What? No I mean how'd you get to this world?"

Amy laughed softly, but that was soon replaced by a momentary flash of pain across her face, it soon faded however.

"I wish I knew. One minute I was online at home, the next thing I know my digivice came through the computer, there was a bright light and then I was here."

"So you don't know a way back?"

"I don't even know if there's a way back."

Nathan blinked heavily a few times and tried to keep his breathing in check.

_She doesn't know if its possible to get back, doesn't mean that it isn't possible._

He didn't want to dwell on this train of thought, so he switched to another one.

"What's a digivice?"

Amy pulled a small looking device from her belt and held it in front of him.

"One of these, didn't you find one when you got here?"

Instinctively, Nathan began to search himself for such a device. Then the obvious realisation hit him.

"No, I've never seen one of those before."

"Really?" She seemed genuinely surprised by this.

"Really."

"But if you're here then you must be a digi-destined?"

"A what?"

"Are you sure you don't have one of these?" She shook the digivice in her hand, perhaps hoping that it would jog his memory.

"I'm certain. I've been here about a month now and I've never seen anything like that."

"Then why are you here?" She said this as much to herself as to Nathan.

"I don't know." He gestured at the arm on the table, "Its like I told them, that guy said I was a mistake, that they wanted someone else and got me instead."

"So I guess that makes the next question obvious," Gatomon said from the doorway, "Who was he? And who are 'they?'"

"Good question." Phantomon added, "Humans in the digital world are rare enough as it is, but I've never seen anything like this." He tapped the metallic arm on the table with his scythe.

"Looks like he superimposed the data from a Metal Greymon onto himself." Nathan couldn't help but think that this technical talk from Sepikmon sounded odd. "But that's impossible, isn't it?"

An uneasy silence followed the grim realisation that it wasn't. However there were still a lot more questions then there were answers.

"We need to get back to the others." Amy said eventually, "Pack what you need but don't take too much. You don't want to be overburdened."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nathan asked.

"You haven't told him yet?"

Nathan looked behind him to where Gatomon was staring sadly at the floor.

"Look," Sepikmon started, "The truth is, that guy's still alive, and even if he's down one limb, he could still come back. Maybe he'd bring more of his friends with him. Maybe we could deal with them, maybe not. The truth is however…"

"They're out for your blood." Gatomon said, "And we can't afford to keep you here, if Salamon's in the wrong place at the wrong time then…"

A stunned silence was all he could manage. Narrowly avoiding death, meeting this new human and now being told to leave his home from home was all too much for one day.

"I'm sorry." Gatomon said, "Believe me this is the last thing we wanted."

"I know," Nathan said finally, "There are innocent lives at stake. Not just Salamon but the whole village. If these guys are after me…" He trailed off and for a few moments another uneasy silence lingered on the balcony. Soon however, he realised something else.

"Even if I do go, it's likely that they'll just come back here anyway. Right?"

"Maybe," Sepikmon replied, "But then how did they know to find you here in the first place. I'm just guessing here Nathey, but I think they can track you somehow."

"Oh _wonderful_, but then aren't I putting you in danger?" He asked Amy.

"Don't worry about us," She replied with a short grin in Phantomon's direction, "We'll be fine."

The weight of the whole situation forced tears to well up behind Nathan's eyes. He kept them at bay with the last vestiges of strength that his dignity allowed him, then in as clear a voice as he could manage said,

"I'd better go pack."

"Look, we don't want you gone for good." Sepikmon said, "Just until this thing blows over. You'll be safer with the digi-destined anyway."

Still unsure of exactly where he was going, Nathan made his way back inside and towards his bedroom.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Salamon asked, smiling up at Nathan as he crammed too few clothes into the travelling bag that Gatomon had left him.

This goodbye was the one he dreaded above all others. Salamon still had little to no idea of what was happening, and now in her eyes, he had to go away for no apparent reason. He wasn't sure if he'd ever see her again.

"Salamon er, I'm afraid that," He paused, inhaled and tried again, "I'm afraid I have to go away for a while."

"Why?"

"I'm, uh, doing a favour for your mother. I need to head to another town, get some stuff."

"When will you be back." It was hard to tell what she was feeling, she was saying everything quickly, but her voice sounded blank. Maybe it hadn't sunk in yet, maybe she just assumed that he'd be back soon.

"I'll be away a little longer then usual."

"Oooh, can I come too?"

"I don't really think you'd like it, It's not going to be much fun."

"Awww, I really want to see other places."

"Someday you will," Nathan said, struggling to keep a relatively cheery face, "But for now you have to stay safe here with your mum and Sepikmon."

"Ok." Came the pouted response, "Don't be away too long. You promised to help me build a tree house remember."

"I remember." Nathan replied, wondering how exactly he could ever hope to build a tree house when he couldn't even get birdhouses right, "Don't worry I'll be back. I'll get you a souvenir too."

"A what?"

"A gift."

With that Salamon parted with a huge grin, and for the final time leapt atop Nathan's cranium. There she sat while he packed the rest of what he thought he'd need into his bag. When he was finished he made his way into the dining area where he headed Salamon to Sepikmon and bid his farewells.

"Don't put fibre glass in my bed while I'm gone." He said to Sepikmon, trying for lightness in his voice and failing miserably.

"Who do you take me for," Came the exaggerated response, "Do you really think I'd do that? Again?"

"Do you have everything you need?" Gatomon asked.

"I think so."

"Ok then." She hopped up onto the counter and gave Nathan a pat on the shoulder, "Good luck then. Remember, when this is all over there'll still be a place for you here. Hell, maybe you'll even find a way back to your own world out there."

"Maybe." He paused and for a moment he felt the tears well up behind his eyes again. "Thanks for everything guys. I don't know what I would have done if it weren't for you."

"Pfft." Sepikmon responded, "Just make sure you get this all sorted out soon, if I have to do your chores for too long then I'll be the one hunting you down."

"I don't doubt it."

A short lived, uneasy laughter filled the quiet room for a few moments before Nathan spoke again.

"I'd better get going." He said, "I'll see you soon."

"Bye." Sepikmon said, giving Nathan a clap on the shoulder that almost sent him flying to the floor.

"Take care." Gatomon added.

"Remember Nathan, you promised to bring me back a gift, and help me build a tree house."

"I remember." He said as he made his way through the door to where Amy and Phantomon were waiting.

"You promised."

**To be continued.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again to Nameless Dragon for reviewing, and to anyone else who's been reading.**

**Chapter 3**

"It seems my faith in you has been misplaced Templar."

"No my lord." With his arm missing, and his face bruised and battered, it was hard for Templar Michael Brooks to disagree with the Prince, but he'd seen what had happened to those who'd disappointed him before, all he could hope to do now was try and argue his continued worth. Maybe then he'd get to go back to that village and tear that Phantomon to pieces, and that cat and masked monkey as well. They might have caught him off guard once, but next time he'd be ready.

The shadowy projection of the Prince on the terminal screen grinned.

"No?"

"My mission was a success my Lord," He almost grinned at the memory of Nathan's bleeding corpse, "The mistake has been dealt with, and we are now free to bring your chosen warrior to this world."

A soft chuckle from the other side of the screen.

"You fool." The Prince uttered matter-of-factly, "You stabbed the child and then in the next minute you turned, ran and hope for the best. Is it so difficult to remember that this is not the world we have left behind? Did I not tell you to watch Nathan Rollins turn to dust? It seems that because of your shoddy work, a Digimon had ample opportunity to restore this thorn in our side to full health. His presence here in the Digital world continues to block the transfer of my chosen follower."

Michael gaped at the screen in disbelief. It was impossible, he'd killed that whelp, he had to have done. He saw the life drain from him and watched as he lay motionless in that motley simian's arms. He was _fucking_ dead.

"To make matters worse, there is the matter of you faltering in battle with those miniscule creatures."

"Sir," Michael had few talents, and acting wasn't one of them. He'd screwed up, he knew that and the Prince knew that, and try as he might, he couldn't generate an image of doing anything else. "I was..."

"You were incompetent. When the time came you ignored all that I have taught you and you allowed yourself to be caught off guard. Those warriors deserving of ascension are just that, warriors. I see now that you Templar Brooks are nothing but an armed savage. I have no need for such brutes as you."

"Give me a chance my lord," His voice had almost degenerated to a squeak, he knew what was coming, "Let me return to that village and redeem myself."

"You know the price for failure." Came the stony response, "I gave you a chance to prove yourself and you have failed. Have you not at least the courage to accept your fate with dignity."

Apparently, he didn't. With a hateful glance at the terminal, Michael turned on his heel and charged into the woods. The stillness in the air which signified an absolute lack of any other living creatures in the area was evident, and only served to increase Michael's pace.

He had no idea where he was running to, fear had simply sent him into a blind sprint. The forest was a poor place for a run however, and it wasn't long before an unseen vine sent Michael tumbling to the floor in a graceless heap.

For a few moments he simply lay face down, breathing heavily and resisting the urge to spit as the smell of damp foliage made its way up his nose. But he was ok, he was making his way into the centre of the forest. If he buried himself deep enough then no one would find him, when he was safe he could plan his next move.

A snap of a twig from somewhere behind him sent Michael spinning round hastily. Terror shot through his nerves like electricity, but he saw nothing from the direction of the sound. The next thing he felt was a pair of clawed hands wrapped around the back of his head.

And then he felt his neck snap.

* * *

Nathan had expected that he'd have to walk all the way to wherever it was he and Amy were going. Instead he found himself sitting in a well padded chair onboard a train shaped Digimon that sounded vaguely like Richard O'Brian.

He didn't feel as bad now that the goodbyes were over and done with. One thing he'd been putting off admitting to himself was that he'd never find his way home serving food and cleaning urinals back at the restaurant. But he couldn't just walk away, he'd owed Gatomon and Sepikmon too much, he probably still did.

And despite himself, he was excited. The Digital world, what he'd seen of it made the real world seem very grey and monotonous by comparison. This world had a more then just a hint of enchantment about it, and now he was finally going to see it properly.

Distantly, Nathan thought that if he ever managed to make his way back to his own world, he'd probably find himself pining for this one on more then a few rainy afternoons. The grass was always greener on the other side of the fence.

"So where are we going?" Nathan asked.

"The Stone village." Phantomon replied. "The other digi-destined await us there."

It seemed a bit odd to Nathan to be conversing with the Grim Reaper. But then again, it was really no different to speaking with cats or aboriginal monkeys.

"I guess I never properly thanked you for what you did back at the village." Nathan replied, "I guess I'd be dead now if it weren't for you."

"Perhaps, of course you'll be dead no matter what?"

"Eh?"

"All life is destined to be destroyed. It is simply a question of now or later."

"There's a cheery thought."

"Isn't it?" Phantomon replied with what could almost be described as veneration in his voice. Abruptly Nathan felt a desire to change the subject.

"I have to ask though, why were you there in the first place? You couldn't have known you'd find me there."

"Oh we were just there to gather food for the…"

The dark orbs that formed Phantomon's eyes abruptly took on a look that seemed almost embarrassed.

"Oh crap!" Amy shouted from the other side of the Trailmon's carriage where she'd been trying with limited success to sleep.

"We forgot the food." Phantomon said.

_That's it? _Nathan thought, _They were on a shopping trip and they just so happened to stumble on me getting stabbed? Unbelievable._

"Can't you pick something up at that Stone place?"

"Sure," Amy replied, "If you don't mind eating gravy coated granite."

"What the residents eat there is, unpleasant."

"_Very_ unpleasant." Amy emphasised.

"And regrettably, it looks like that's what we're stuck with." Phantomon finished.

A glum silence hung in the air for a while. As what often happened in conversations, Nathan found that there was little he could add and so he sat quietly for a long while before he finally found himself with something to say.

"Is there a toilet in this thing."

"Don't even think about it boy." The Trailmon boomed angrily. "I get enough trouble from the seagulls, I don't need it from the passengers."

"I'm sorry, I just thought since you're basically a train that…"

"You thought it'd be alright to expel your waste in my carriage did you? Impertinent wastrel."

Deciding it best not to incur the wrath of his ride, Nathan dropped the subject.

* * *

Needless to say, the other Digi-destined were more then a little surprised when Amy showed up with another human in tow. The introductions were superseded by some rather lengthy and unnerving explanations of exactly what had happened during Amy and Nathan's first meeting, as well as what they could possibly have to look forward to if the Prince decided to make another attempt on Nathan's life. Grudgingly, they also downed a truly unpleasant lunch which may very well have been gravy coated granite.

"This is Lance, and Hawkmon." Amy said, gesturing at a rakish looking teenage kid of either sixteen or seventeen with shoulder length black hair as Nathan was fighting away the agitated bile in his stomach that his lunch had apparently angered. Standing next to him was a short looking Hawk shaped Digimon who was grinning amicably up at him.

"Good to meet you." Lance said, extending a hand, "Sorry to hear about what happened."

"Thanks." Nathan responded, now glad to be in the presence of humans who weren't trying to gut him. It was a small thing, but this cheery introduction did a lot towards keeping hope his hope of returning home alive.

"This is Brian and Terriermon." Amy said, pointing at a second teenager of about the same age. His partner Digimon was clinging to his head with an ear.

"**WELL HI!**" Brian screamed at full volume, extending a hand with such speed that Nathan thought for a second he was going to get punched.

The full force of this greeting caused everyone to back off several steps. A fair few Gatsumon turned to stare in Brian's direction. Terriermon seemed un-phased by his partner's outburst and returned a few of the Gatsumon's glares defiantly. Brian seemed to be resisting the urge to laugh.

"For Christ's sake Brian." Lance said irritably.

"It wasn't funny the first time." Amy added.

"Or the second," Hawkmon said, "Or the third or the fourth or the…"

"I'm Karl Von Tieshowitz," said the third and final human in a strong German accent whilst everyone else was still railing at Brian, "This is Goblinmon."

"Nice to meet you." Karl said.

"So," Terriermon said impatiently after he'd successfully managed to stare down one of the town's folk. "Now that the introductions are over, what should we nine do now?"

"I am not." Karl said irately, "Eating another meal like that. We need to stock up on some proper food."

"So then," Brian said, somewhat calmer now, "What about that village? I know Amy's scavenging trip was cut short by the surprise arrival of the new guy, but…"

"We can't go there." Nathan interrupted.

All heads turned to stare at him.

"Why not?" Lance asked.

"Listen guys, if another weirdo does come after me, they could end up hurting anyone around me. I can't risk putting that village at risk again. I uh, owe some of the villagers that much at least."

"Oh but putting us at risk is ok is it?" Brian asked.

"The Gatomon sent him to us because we'd have the best chance of surviving another attack." Amy said with an unfrindly glance at Brain, "Also, I'm still not sure if this guy's a Digi-destined or not. If he is, he belongs with us." Despite all evidence to the contrary, it seemed that she was unwilling to accept the 'not a Digi-destined' theory.

"I told you," Nathan said, "The reason I'm here is because…"

"A mistake, I remember. Still, that mistake had to have happened for a reason, and now you've joined up with all of us. Seems a bit convenient that some random, passing human would just join our ranks don't you think?"

"She's got a point," Karl added, "But I think we're just going to have to wait and see what happens for now."Nathan nodded, though he was, as always, doubtful as to whether he had any sort of destiny whatsoever, let alone a 'Digi' one.

"Now," Terriermon said, "Back to important matters. We need food."

"If I recall correctly," Hawkmon said, "A group of Armadillomon are maintaining a farm shop near a Trailmon station about ten miles away."

"That's handy," Karl said, "I guess that's where we're going then. Let's…"

Screams were the next thing anyone heard. From behind the nearest stony buildings there was something that was terrifying the resident Gatsumon. It wasn't long before the first of the town's people came sprinting past the digi-destined. An expression of terror was plastered on each of their faces.

The hysteria appeared contagious, other Gatsumon began to run without knowing what they were running from. The others emulated the humans and stared in surprise at the direction that the screaming had come from.

A flash of grey shot above one of the buildings, and in the next instant a Gatsumon plummeted onto the stone floor next to Lance. It looked battered. Instinctively he knelt down next to this creature in a vague attempt to help him, all he found he could do however was place areassuring hand on the Digimon's shoulder and hope that this didn't hurt him further his efforts were interrupted by something else.

Hovering above them was a trio of Airdramon. Each of them were staring at the frightened Digimon below them like cats in front of a goldfish bowl. For several seconds they simply cast their eyes over the village, seemingly searching for something. It didn't take long for them to notice the humans.

"There!" The central one shrieked, "I see our target! I see the abomination!"

The Airdramon on the right began to edge slowly towards the humans. His eyes were focused on Nathan.

"There is no escape Rollins!" He shouted, "The Prince has ordered your demise, and your demise is what he shall have. Even if bumbling fools fail the first time round, ultimately there is no denying the will of the Prince!"

Nathan stared up at these creatures in fresh disbelief. Why was it so important that he die? And why was this all happening so quickly? How had they been able to find him? Maybe Sepikmon had been right about the Prince or whoever being able to track him down.

"I've heard enough." Lance said angrily, pushing himself back to his feet, "Looks like the Prince's flunkies are introducing themselves earlier then anticipated. So be it. Let's do it guys!"

"Right!" Came the response from the others.

_Do what? _Nathan thought distantly, the fear of another impending death occupying his thoughts now.

The Digi-destined pulled their digivices from their belts and it wasn't long before the Digimon were engulfed in an almost blinding light. Nathan watched this scene unfold from the corner of his eyes, unable to take his focus off of the Airdramon.

The light seemed to be getting bigger, it wasn't until later however that Nathan realised it was infact the Digimon who had been growing, and he soon found out why.

"Hawkmon digivolved to… Aquilamon!"

"Terriermon digivolved to… Gargomon!"

"Goblinmon digivolved to… Ogremon!"

Digivolution. Nathan had heard about, often from Salamon who at least twice a day would comment on how she wanted to digivolve. She said that being a Salamon was ok but if she were a Gatomon then she'd be able to jump on the roof. Why she wanted to do this was something of a mystery, but Nathan felt that this was a question that could wait.

Phantomon staid as we was.

"You'd better get back." Lance said, making his way backwards, "This is going to get nasty."

"Go get him Ogremon," Karl shouted, "Feed them their teeth!"

"Show them what you're made of Terriermon!" Brian added.

The Airdramon scattered as Phantomon and the three newly evolved Digimon flung themselves at them. It seemed to Nathan that they recognised these new combatants only as obstacles. Their focus was still pinned on him. It looked like they wanted him dead and didn't care much about what else happened.

**To be continued**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait, I had a lack of inspiration and no end of writer's block to contend with. Oh well, thanks again to all readers and to Nameless Dragon for reviewing.**

**Chapter 4**

"Kill the humans." One of the Airdramon screamed.

"Long live the Exalted ones!"

The Airdamon who made that last remark then proceeded to 'ooof' loudly as Gargomon slammed the barrel of his arm mounted cannon into his serpentine body. The creature began to fall but soon recovered himself and pulled back into the air. It seemed he was yielding the floor to his companions for the moment.

"Pummel Wham!" A burst of dark energy shot out from Ogremon's fist and then knocked the air out of a second attacking Airdramon. This attack from an ultimate level Digimon did considerably more damage then Gargomon's and the Digimon on its receiving end fell swiftly through the stony roof of one of the Gatsumon's homes. Both he and the house vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Nathan and the others had moved into a simple stone hut, the occupants had wisely chosen to leave and run far away from the battle zone. Everyone was crowded around a single small circular window, looking intently for any approaching flying demons. It was difficult to make out anything however.

"Blast rings!" Aquilamon shouted as he shot out one energised circle after another at the remaining Airdramon, who let loose a shameless howl of pain and made a blind dash for the sky.

The three attacking Digimon regrouped and hovered above the village. The Digi-destined's Digimon stood between them and their partners, making no attempt to hide the lack of an impression these Airdramon had made upon them.

"Is that the best you can do?" Gargomon yelled, "You three couldn't hit a Whamon on the arse with a spade!"

One of the 'Exalted ones' responded with an irate snarl, considering their earlier performance it came across as uncertain and unimpressive, both to themselves and their targets.

"Dark Twister!" Three balls of dark energy shot towards Phantomon, Gargomon and Ogremon. Phantomon and Gargomon evaded the shots, Ogremon however made no attempt to get out of the way and laughed as the Airdramon's attack caught him straight in the chest.

"Gargo laser!" Gargomon yelled cheerfully before sending a hailstorm of gunfire in the direction of the Airdramon. Each of them recoiled and screamed under the impact of the laser particles as the stream of gunfire moved in their direction.

"Shadow sythe!" Phantomon shrilled, slicing a swath in the back of one of the writhing creatures, the cut was not deep enough to delete the creature, he'd never hear the end of it if he did that.

"They're too strong." Hissed one of the Digi-destined would-be destroyers after he'd fought past the pain of burn marks on his chest.

"We must retreat." Shouted another over the blinding agony of the deep cut on his back.

"Relish this small victory fools," Shouted the final one as the three beasts retreated into the distance, "Our numbers and everywhere, if it takes fifty of our warriors, we will bring fifty. If it takes a hundred, we will bring a hundred."

The Digi-destined's partner Digimon shouted triumphant taunts at their opponents as they retreated, Ogremon might have said something that might have rhymed with 'hunts', but no one could be certain.

When they were confident that the Airdramon were sufficiently out of range, the four de-digivolved back to the rookie stage, with the exception of Phantomon who had achieved Ultimate status naturally, long before he had become Amy's partner. As such he could stay as he was.

A small crowd of cheering humans emerged from the hut and made their way towards their friends, trailing a little behind them was Nathan who, considering everything that had happened to him in what had still been less then twenty four hours, felt he had the right to feel a little on edge. This right was small comfort however.

"Great work Hawkmon," Lance said, giving his Digimon a hand to wing equivalent of a high five.

"Nice work buddy," Brain said as Terriermon leapt back atop his shoulder, "You make that stuff look easy."

"You seem surprised." Came the smug reply.

"Hey new guy." Amy half shouted to Brian after congratulating Phantomon, "Didn't you notice? We won. What's the matter?"

Nathan looked up, feeling a little surprised that he'd been noticed at all. Taking a moment to rebuke himself for instantly expecting to be exiled from this group, (an experience which he was very familiar with), he looked up in the direction the Airdramon had fled towards.

"If it takes a hundred we will bring a hundred." He replied, "They won't stop until I'm dead."

"Hey, cut that out!" Lance grunted in reply, "If they come after us we'll send them packing. Just like we did this time."

"There are eight of us, if they've really got fifty or a hundred…"

"Look," Brian said, "We know what we're doing. We've been in tough scrapes before, worse then that one. You just need to trust us buddy, we'll be fine. So will you."

"Besides" Goblinmon added, "What choice do you really have?"

A few more almost reassuring sentiments came from humans and Digimon alike, Nathan couldn't help but wonder what they'd say if it was them with the price of their head.

That still sounded wrong when he said it to himself, he was a nobody. Nothing special, he knew that and he knew full well that there shouldn't be any reason for a reward for his scalp. Hell, he shouldn't even fucking be here. That much was something he and this Prince bastard could agree on.

Still, Goblinmon was right, he didn't have any choice but to stay close to these Digi-destined and hope for the best. He thanked them all for their words of encouragement and tried to affect as confident a face as possible. Easier said then done but he managed to pull it off.

As the Gatsumon were beginning to make their way back to their now somewhat trashed corner of the city, the group thought it best to make their exit before they were blamed for the whole thing.

* * *

"How're they doing?"

MagnaAngemon looked at the wounded Digimon outstretched on the makeshift read mattresses and knew exactly how his wounded soldiers were doing. No one who survived a Mortismon attack had ever recovered. No matter how strong the Digimon, there was no one who could stop the virus from reconfiguring their data. He had had to euthanize far too many of his own people.

Angewomon spared him one blank glance before returning her attention to the mortally wounded Garurumon. There was nothing to be done of course, but she thought maybe his final hours would be more comfortable if the stab wound in his hind leg were treated, or maybe it was just something to take her mind off of things.

In the distance, outstretched below him in the centre of the valley was the huge capital city of Mukai server. Oddly enough the city had no name, the residence claimed proudly that it never needed one. There were roughly thirty thousand Digimon living there who were prepared to fight for their home, and that's what they would soon get the chance to do. The Mortismon scouts had descended upon the valley in the dead of night, there were thirty in total, each of them searched out and either killed or infected any champion or ultimate level Digimon. They had succeeded in taking out fifteen, a further six were currently laid out on the ground, writhing and crying out in pain. Waiting to become Mortismon.

For what little it may be worth, this attack had silenced and nay-Sayers and doubters who had refused to believe that there might be a threat coming their way. Now MagnaAngemon's army was as big as it may ever get, but whether that would be enough was debatable, the Mortismon's numbers were almost infinite, rumour had it that those which weren't born from reconfigured Digimon were simply created out of nothingness by the Prince's minions.

With a sigh, MagnaAngemon turned on his heel and took off into the air, soon he began a steady descent to the makeshift command centre in the city where he was currently needed. The only reason he'd stepped away was on Karatenmon and Birdramon's insistence that he clear his head for a while. That while had been little under five minutes. There were thousands of lives at risk, this was no time for him to be taking breaks. If he couldn't stay focused and get all his forces ready to fight then this city would be a smoking crater in a matter of days.

* * *

Nathan was sprawled across three of the Trailmon's seats. From up the carriage he could hear the others talking, but exactly what they were saying was distorted by the sound of the engine.

He'd told everyone that he was going to try and get some sleep, that was virtually impossible however considering the noise, the adrenaline rush and the fact that his last nap or period of unconsciousness or whatever was less then five hours ago. The truth was that he simply wished to be left alone.

He'd had to put up with crap in his time, at least he thought he had, but never anything like this. He didn't want to die, and he sure as hell didn't deserve to. That didn't seem to matter to this Prince though, or his army of lunatics

Twice now he'd been on the brink of death and twice he'd barely escaped, no thanks to his efforts. He was just some bumbling idiot who brought devastation wherever he went. He couldn't help but wonder whether this shop they were heading to would still be standing when they left. Hell, would _he_ still be standing when they left?

"Hey kid, you awake?"

Instead of waiting for a response, Terriermon found his answer when he casually hopped on Nathan's stomach, causing him to 'oof' heavily. If he had been asleep, he wouldn't be after the heavy Digimon landed on him.

Nathan looked up at the miniature dog/rabbit beast with the devious grin on his face before shooing him off his gut and sitting up.

"Yep, he's up." Terriermon said, hopping back onto Brian's head.

After a few painful breaths, Nathan turned to face the others, who all seemed to be facing him. It seemed a moment's sodding privacy was out of the question.

"What?" He asked, trying not to sound too impolite, none of this was there fault after all.

"You thirsty?" Lance asked, "We're breaking into some of our rations, better drink now while you have the chance."

"Oh, alright."

_Last meal, _Nathan's pessimistic side said to the rest of him, _only without the meal part._

He shrugged it aside and took the offered bottle of water. The label was written in Japanese, everything seemed to be in Japanese in this world for some unknown reason, and for unknown reason he was able to understand it all, even though he didn't know a word of Japanese.

"So," Nathan asked for lack of anything else to say, "Where are we heading once we get this food thing sorted?"

"God knows." Amy said with a sigh, "We just go from one place to another, wandering aimlessly."

"Really?" Despite his dread, something had occurred to Nathan about his new colleagues.

"You called yourself the Digi-destined right?"

"Yeah." Lance answered. "What about it?"

"Well, what does that mean?"

An uneasy shuffling and a few irate groans answered him.

"We're not entirely sure," Karl said finally, "When we got to the Digital world we stumbled about for weeks before we ran into a Digimon called Mercurymon. Strange man, had a strong Texan accent, couldn't understand a word he was saying."

The group laughed lightly at the memory before Amy continued the story,

"He told us that there was a prophecy concerning a group of humans who would come to the Digital world, the Digi-destined. They were supposed to appear at some point in time, when they were desperately needed to…"

"To? What?"

"We don't know." Lance finished, "Apparently the tablet on which the prophecy was written was buried in a desert for decades, the part of the prophecy saying what exactly we were supposed to do was worn off."

"You're taking the piss," Nathan said, almost managing to laugh at the absurdity of what he'd just been told, "Worn off? A sacred tablet on which an ancient prophecy is written was worn off?"

"Yep." Brian said in disgust, "So here we are, we directionless homeless exiles."

"Ah don't give me that," Terriermon said, "We don't see you guys complaining when you get to look like heroes to townsfolk."

"Yeah, even though it's us that do all the work." Goblinmon said, albeit not with a serious tone of voice.

"Besides, coming here has allowed you to meet us, and just think of the screams Amy, when you return to your world with me in tow."

Again the gang laughed, this time Nathan couldn't stop himself from joining them. Perhaps solitude wasn't going to do him any good. Who knew, maybe things weren't all that bad.

"We all know that the Digi-destined are here to do something of vital importance. Unfortunately that's all anyone knows." Hawkmon said, shrugging his wings as he did so.

"Unless we figure out what that is," Lance said, "We go from place to place, trying to find a way home or sometimes we help out the Digimon if they have any, um, problems."

"What kind of problems?"

"Well those Airdramon for example," Amy said, "You'd be surprised how often we have to drive away a gang of bullies from a town or village."

"Hey guys," Brian said, "I may be way off here, but have you had the same thought that I have? I mean there's this new guy, the Prince right?" He asked, looking at Nathan who nodded once in response,

"Yeah anyway, he's just shown up out of nowhere and he's got Digimon/human hybrids with him. Now I'm no expert but that sounds pretty unnatural to me, and it doesn't sound like he's using them for charitable reasons. I might be wrong, but maybe, that's why we're here. To put this guy out of business."

Everyone considered this point in silence for a moment, on the surface it seemed a little unlikely, but at the same time, no one knew a whole lot about this 'Prince', or what his plans were. They didn't even know if he was a human or a Digimon, or both.

"Who can say?" Lance replied, "That might be it, or maybe we're here to deliver a bunch of napkins to an ice-cream parlour. For now I don't see what we can do except carry on as normal. We can't exactly go find him and ask what he's playing at can we?"

"We won't have to," Nathan said cheerlessly, "We're going to see more of his flunkies."

"Behold, the optimist of the group."

"Give it a rest Brian."

"Don't underestimate us Nathan," Amy said, "The Prince's boys did that today and you saw how easily we dealt with them."

That was true, though Nathan very much doubted it would be so easy next time.

"End of the line kiddies!" The Trailmon shrieked, coming to an abrupt halt which nearly sent everyone tumbling to the floor. "Time to vamoose. Come on! Get out! Out! Out! Out!"

**To be continued**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the wait, I've been trying to sort out the plot so that it doesn't resemble Digimon savers too closely. (The one series I haven't seen an I find myself with one too many similar plot aspects 4 chapters in. Sort of.) Anyway, I think I've got the problems sorted out. Thanks to anyone whose been reading.**

**Chapter 5**

"My Lord." Uttered the two Mortismon guards in that monotone voice of theirs. The logistics team back in the real world had programmed them with that pesky salute whenever he walked within fifty feet of them. It was flattering at first but the novelty had long since worn off.

He waited for the creatures to open the door for him before stepping past them into the war room. He grinned as he noticed more territory of this his new kingdom, unreal though it was, had fallen under his control. The occupants of this realm were strong, maybe, but with very few exceptions they were disorganised and segmented. With a little precision and strategy they could easily be subjugated.

Once he was finished here, he could at last get started on the real work.

"My Lord," His two generals echoed, one human, the other a SkullSatamon, raising their right hands to their left shoulders in what had become the established salute. He replied with a vague hint of a nod.

"What news?" He asked.

"The last of our forces are gathering here sire." Hiro Kosugi said, pointing at a hilly region on the central map display. Enemy scouts have doubtlessly detected them, but they won't risk a pre-emptive attack. Their numbers are still too small."

"Has the bothersome angel rallied the city against us."

"We believe so sir."

"This creature is fast becoming more of a nuisance then I am willing to put up with. Instruct the battlefield commander, uh, who is it?"

"Captain Beckett sire." SkullSatamon answered.

"Yes, him, instruct him that this MagnaAngemon is a priority target. I do not want him to survive. Let's not let the weeds accumulate eh?"

A practiced laughter answered this.

"Speaking of weeds, what of this bothersome child that's in our way. Did our second wave finish him off?"

Kosugi shuffled uncomfortably,

"The situation with Nathan has become somewhat complicated sir. It seems he has acquired some new bodyguards."

"What kind of bodyguards?" The Prince asked through gritted teeth.

"We're not sure sir. The one Airdramon who decided not to try and escape us has reported four other human children and four Digimon who proved to be too much of a match for them."

"I see." This Nathan kid had an insufferable supply of luck, but luck always ran out and nothing, not luck nor a new gang of beasts would keep him from the justice he was due.

"Very well," he said after a few breaths, "Make sure the two deserters are suitably dealt with."

"Yes sire." Kosugi said, "What about the third?"

"A week in solitary confinement. Then he may rejoin our forces."

"And the boy sire?"

"The boy remains an irritation, albeit a lucky one. Still, I think we can spare two dozen Mortismon or so to deal with him and these new friends of his, then perhaps they can begin spreading in this area." He gestured at the hilly region surrounding the blinking red dot that represented Nathan.

"Very good sir." SkullSatamon responded.

"Send Captain Russo with them. I think it's time she proved himself worthy of her rank."

Nathandecided to stretch his limbs when the group reached a small marketplace, he'd left the others with the mumbled comment that he'd 'be back later' and that he'd get try and track down some fruit, vegetables or some such. He didn't want to be a dead weight.

As much of a bad idea as it may be, he really needed some time alone right now if only to clear his head or think things over or do whatever it was people were supposed to do in situations such as this. Terriermon, (whom subtlety seemed utterly lost on) had whacked him across the face with one of his prehensile ears and told him not to feel sorry for himself, but he'd gone off anyway. Now he was staring distantly at the same mountain range that he'd often found himself staring at back at the restaurant, back when the question had been 'would he reach home?' rather then 'would he survive the night?'

Those mountains looked closer now. It was quite a sight, back home Nathan had never really expected to ever see such things in the course of his life. Where he lived was as flat as a pancake and travelling tended to be a rare occurrence in his family. It was a beautiful sight, which for some reason it reminded him of travelling to the supermarket his parents on Wednesdays, though how this freakish connection had come about was as big a mystery to him as Sepikmon.

As peaceful as the scene was, despite the assorted onlookers who had apparently never seen a human before, he decided that he should probably make himself useful. He scurried about the assorted stalls for a bit, trying not to run into the others just yet, and eventually found one on which were displayed varied tinned pears, sweet corn and something else which he'd never heard of. The label read 'Ice pepper'.

"You look troubled boy." Said the Armadillomon sitting behind the stall, she looked identical to the others but her voice was one of an old woman. "What is it that worries you?"

"Errr…" Somehow, the idea of telling someone else that he had a price on his head seemed oddly impolite, "It's nothing."

"Nonsense. Don't lie boy, it's unhealthy. If you've got a problem then let me help you. I'm renowned for my wise advice."

"Really?"

"Well no, but it sounds good and normally works on the tourists. I can make the occasional penny by posing as a fortune teller."

"Neat."

"So anyway, what be your problem?"

"It's…It's kind of a long story."

"So?"

"Someone's…trying to kill me."

"That's not a long story."

Nathan was a bit taken aback by this comment, she'd responded to this question like he'd said he'd lost his car keys.

"Um, what?"

"Come on boy, this is the Digital World, outside of the towns there's hundreds of Digimon trying to destroy everything they can see so they can load their data. Fighting and dying is a fact of life here, don't let it get to you."

"But I'm not a Digimon, and I've got God knows how many people trying to…"

"So what? Are you going to keep complaining about it in the hope that your enemies will see the gross unfairness of your situation and take pity on you? Or are you going to come up with a way to beat them before it's too late?"

Nathan replied with a familiar stony silence. Telling yourself to stop being pig-headed was one thing, something he didn't have to listen to, someone else telling him the same thing was simply embarrassing.

"Heed my words boy, you can fight or you can sit back and do nothing."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Good, now are you going to buy something?"

Although the handful of pennies in his wallet were all but useless, Nathan was able to trade his old hat for a few tins in a basket marked 'reduced to clear'. He wouldn't miss it, it was itchy as hell and more then once he'd been told it made him look like a condom.

_To: Captain Aleksandra Russo_

_From: Prince's General SkullSatamon_

_Regarding: New instructions_

_Greetings Captain, The Prince acknowledges your service to him and his righteous quest for the ultimate ascension of our two species and congratulates you on your elevation in status. Now he has decided it is time for you to prove yourself worthy of your new rank, what follows are your new instructions._

_As you may or may not be aware, a new warrior for our cause was recently selected for transferral to this new world by the Prince. A human male by the name of Elias Hiron. Regrettably, due to a hitherto undiscovered error the human we delivered to this world was one from the ranks of the unworthy. No doubt you know of whom I speak. The human named Nathan Rollins. His presence within this world blocks the deliverance of the Prince's new warrior._

_Templar Brooks and the Airdramon unit known as the Sky Sythes have already attempted unsuccessfully to destroy this nuisance, and it has been reported that the boy has acquired some new defenders consisting of five humans, a Gargomon, a Phantomon, an Ogremon and an Aquilamon._

_Your orders in this matter are two-fold. First and formost you are to ensure the destruction of this whelp and everyone who may challenge you. The Prince has decided that a force of two dozen Mortismon should be sufficient to complete this task. Note however that time is of the essence as Hiron is currently awaiting execution on Earth._

_Your secondary assignment is to facilitate our introduction into Skuld Server. You are to use the Mortismon to reprogram as many Digimon as possible and occupy a suitable settlement for a base of operations in that area._

_Take this task seriously Russo, too many of our warriors have succumb to overconfidence and failed as a result. It is true that your ascension through the ranks has been swift so far, but do not let it go to your head. The simple truth is that we are largely shorthanded in terms of command officers, and your competence is still being questioned. Remember your orders and remember also the price of failure._

Aleksandra pushed the screen of her laptop downwards and frowned. As tasks went, this one seemed pretty undignified. Being sent to kill a child was a far cry from what the Prince's envoy had promised her. Then again, she mused, any halfway decent story had to start small and work its way upwards.

The last paragraph was something she forced herself not to put too much stock in. No doubt the bony idiot was trying to bait her into a rash act. Maybe he thought that she could be so easily pushed into a foolish act. The reason for her quick ascension in rank was because she was good at her job.

Enough, it didn't matter. She'd get this done and then perhaps get on with something more interesting. There were plenty more towns and villages that needed reorganising. Though truth be told there was something about wreaking devestation on Digimon that seemed somehow unsatisfying, maybe it was the fact that thy were data. There was something about that which raised the obvious question, 'are they even real'. Then again, perhaps she simply felt dissatisfied because she longed to return to Earth with the Mortismon in tow and claim the proper vengeance that she was owed.

Skuld server was roughly two days away, no doubt someone would remember whether a human had passed them by or not. They weren't exactly common in this world. Pushing herself out of the seat in the makeshift command tent she'd had erected, she went out to gather herself a strike team.

"Right," Karl asked, "That's that then. What now?"

"Lunch?" Hawkmon offered hopefully.

"We had lunch."

"Dinner?" Goblinmon asked, much to everyone's amusement.

"Tell me something," Nathan asked "Are all Digimon bottomless pits?"

"Each and every last one of them." Brian said.

"Then again, who isn't?" Karl asked.

Nathan felt a lot better having spoken with Armadillomon. He was still being hunted and may very well get gutted again, but feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to solve anything. This depression was getting old. He'd taken enough falls at the hands of this Prince wanker and his army of apparently ineffectual idiots. He'd let other people save his hide too many times and now he had to start taking care of himself. He couldn't let himself just be a target.

But for now he wasn't going to let himself worry about that. Instead he was going to focus on fanning the small hint of adventurous spirit that had been trying desperately to reach the surface ever since he arrived in this world.

"I think we need to assume that we'll be attacked again." Phantomon said, "We need to make sure we keep our guard about us." A general murmur of agreement answered him.

"And maybe we should…"

Nathan abandoned his sentence and inhaled sharply as a sudden pain in his chest demanded his attention. For a moment he thought it was his stab wounds returning from wherever they'd been spirited away from but the pain felt different, in fact he wasn't sure if it was actually pain at all.

"Are you alright?" Karl asked. Nathan breathed a few slow breaths as the pain began to subside before looking up.

"Yeah I'm fine. It was weird, I just felt for a second this…"

A second jolt this time sent him crashing to his knees with his arms cradling his ribs. The sensation seemed to stretch almost throughout his whole body now. His body didn't seem to know whether it needed to suffer under this feeling or not. Part of him felt like he needed to scream whereas another part of him seemed to be drifting out of consciousness. It wasn't like getting stabbed had been. That was, if nothing else, straightforward.

"Nathan? What's wrong." Amy's voice sounded so distant. It was like she was shouting to him from the top of a well. He tried to look up and it was then he realised that he couldn't see anything. Everything was dark. Soon he couldn't even feel his hands around his ribs or any other part of him. That feeling remained though. It seemed to be all that was left of him with the exception of confusion and fear.

He had no idea how long he staid that way. It felt like hours but perhaps that was simply how it was supposed to feel. The situation remained unchanging until someone, somewhere, in a voice as clear as day told him,

"There are no accidents."

**To be continued**


End file.
